Radical Jupiter Energy
by JiraiyaWhitney
Summary: **temp title** High School will never be the same again-especially when old friends Roy the quarterback and Ed the cheer leader *he lost a bet* start hanging again, only this time they drag their new friends into old affairs. **!M for later chapters!**
1. Chapter 1

One –

_"I miss the sound of your voice. And I miss the rush of your skin. And I miss the still of your silence as you breathe out and I breathe in. If I could walk on water—if I could tell you what's next—I'd make you believe; I'd make you forget. So come on get higher, loosen my lips; faith and desire in the swing of your hips; just pull me down hard and drown me in love. So come on get higher, loosen my lips; faith and desire in the swing of your hips; just pull me down hard and drown me in love. I miss the sound of your voice, the loudest thing in my head. And I ache to remember…._ What's next?"

"…all the violent, sweet, perfect words that you said. If I could walk on water—if I could tell you what's next—I'd make you believe; make you forget."

"Wait, wait; let's start from the top. You sing that entire verse."

* * *

The crowd goes wild. A satin haired man threw his hands into the air, still clutching the winning football in his right hand. His team charged at him as the cheerleaders from his school hurried in their blue and gold outfits ran into the middle of the field, cheering and rubbing it in the faces of the other team.

It wouldn't matter how many times he led them to victory, he would always and forever gasp whenever he was lifted onto the shoulders of his teammates. Their cheers and congratulations from them echoed in his ears as they bounced him there and for a moment, he caught the eye of one of the cheerleaders.

Even with all the adrenaline in his system making his head go practically blank with nothing but the _'I did it again!' _running through his head, he recognized those eyes. There was no way that he could ever forget them.

* * *

The footsteps echoing through the hallway told him exactly where the other students were. He didn't even have to look up from his book to know when to duck or when to sidestep someone. He'd done it enough times before that no one paid much attention to him as he did it. Most people didn't even know he went to school here, or if they did, they didn't know when he started, so he was used to the ignorance from them.

After all, when so much happens in so little time, you tend to not care about certain things. They all go over your head.

* * *

The brunette with dyed blond bangs leaned against the lockers, watching the bookworm worm his way through the crowd again. He was walking up towards him and he couldn't help but smirk as the other man shut the book with a slapping noise and raised his one eyebrow at him. He reached up and slammed his hand against the locker door, bouncing it so that it opened for him.

"That would be much more impressive if you _didn't _know my locker combination."

* * *

She adjusted the reading glasses on her nose for a moment before flipping the page in her textbook, continuing to read from the section. Her blonde hair shifted out of place and, ever the perfectionist, she tucked it back in without detour. She knew that as she read many of the men in her class ogled her, but, finally, she looked up at the end of it and caught the smile of the only person who really mattered.

It was easy enough to force herself not to blush. That wouldn't do; her blush would just make her cheeks seem sickly bright under her makeup.

* * *

Brown hair dyed a reddish-pink color hung in her eyes as she let out a breath and curtsied to the class, listening to them applaud. As she walked down off the makeshift stage, the teacher called another person up to do their performance. Her moment in the spotlight was over, but another beacon would soon light and fix itself upon her, she knew. It was all a matter of tims and whether or not her friends were ready to come out and perform with her. Patience is a virtue, and it was one virtue she was well endowed with.

* * *

The ginger with a slight beer gut snorted and gulped down another handful of chips in the middle of the passing period. The digestion of the food would be the only thing that would keep him awake in the next class, he knew. So he grabbed the books he needed as he swallowed before grabbing another handful and stuffing his face with them. Sure, he wasn't supposed to be eating right now, but, hey, it was worth getting in trouble if it meant that he wouldn't be suspended for falling asleep.

* * *

The black haired man shifted uncomfortably and pushed back his glasses. The moments before debate started were always the most nerve wracking, even if he knew what he was doing. He could do this; he just didn't want to mess up in the beginning of the match.

Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind and nodded at the time keeper. He clicked the stop watch and the mousy man stepped away from the podium, gesturing with his hands. "You've all heard of radioactive energy, no doubt…"

He knew he could do it.

* * *

The proud man with eyes of emeralds behind sheets of museum glass smiled as he clapped his hand on the shoulder of the satin haired man. They laughed and laughed until they cried normally, but he could tell that his best friend was deep in his mind by the look in his eyes and the way he would politely thank anyone who commented on last Friday's game without really listening. Well, he was either deep in thought or needed to get laid. He suspected the former.

* * *

The mousy woman smiled shyly at him, holding her favorite book to her chest for a moment. He smiled back the same way until she paused and turned the book out, offering it to him. He took it, cautiously, and read the title. "Moby Dick?" She could feel her face heating up brighter than before as she nodded and tried to look innocent.

"I can finish this by Friday night. How about I drop it off at your house? Seven o'clock?"

She couldn't help but giggle and nod, feeling like she was going to faint. "O-Ok. I'd really like that."

"Thank you."

She watched him leave before jumping around, twirling in the air in excite. She'd finally gotten a date with him! The motion would have been better if her glasses hadn't slipped off her face right then and landed on the ground, nearly under her foot.

* * *

Crick. Crick. Crick.

The lug shifted into place and jerked to a stop, sending the message up her wrench and through her arm. She hissed gently from getting her finger caught between the wrench and the engine, but the pain passed as soon as she got the wrench off the lug and clapped her oil covered hands together, turning to face her beauty.

The car's engine glimmered, obviously happy to be clean of the oil build up and the leak from the sump pump. It was easy enough to fix, even more so because this was a car she would one day be recreating. Model T's were too hard to come by naturally and it was a miracle Central High had one in stock. So she would do the right thing and… no, no she did not steal the serial number off the radiator, what are you talking about? And where'd you get the proof of it? Huh!


	2. Chapter 2

Two –

The blond bookworm sat at a table by his lonesome during lunch at that moment. The satin haired man could make out the book, opened to whatever page, to the man's right as he munched on whatever was in front of him. He turned and said good bye to his friends and fellow Football team members before walking over there and standing in front of him.

"This seat taken?"

* * *

He couldn't believe his eyes. Why the fuck was he here? After so long? After what fucking happened? Who did that fucking "star quarterback" think he was, asking if that seat was taken? "You know fucking well enough that if there ain't anyone sitting there, then it ain't taken." Why the fuck did he just say that?

The other man smirked and sat down, pointing out, "Well, it is now."

"Really? I thought I was talking to air. Go away." He rolled his eyes.

"I noticed you're a cheerleader now." That infuriating smirk of his stretched just barely so that the blond was distracted by _that much _and his kick missed by five centimeters. "Watch the legs, Edward. That could have seriously hurt me."

"You're lucky you're the fucking quarterback, Roy. Otherwise, I wouldn't have missed purposefully."

"Oh? So now you take it easy on me? That's new. I don't believe you've taken it easy on anyone before."

"Fucker."

"Language. Now, would you mind explaining to me the sudden spike in school spirit? Or is it all just to see me riding my way to college on a scholarship while you're stuck back here for the rest of your life?"

"I lost a bet, you motherfucker. You've met the captain of the cheer squad, Riza, right? Yeah, don't fucking bet against her."

"Why do you think I tried out for the football team? Not like I wanted to when I started. You'll grow to like it."

"I have to wear a fucking uniform and lift girls off the ground. I don't quite think so."

"You sure? I'd like the latter part."

"That's because you're bi."

"And you're pan, what's your point?"

"That you're boring as fuck."

"_Fuck_, as you so rudely put it, is not boring."

"Like hell am I calling it 'making love' like _your highness _calls it."

Someone slapped shut his book and slid it towards him before sitting down beside him. They turned to watch as that brunette and blond haired man sat down and grinned at them. "Dude, boss, is this really the quarterback? How'd you get him to sit with you?"

"I didn't. And why the fuck do you call me boss, anyway?"

Jean just snorted and rolled his eyes before he took a bite of… whatever was on his tray. He didn't want to ask what it was—it was frightening and that's all he needed to know. "Why do you think? You're always bossy."

"I am not!"

"Well, sometimes you are. It depends on what it is that we're doing. So, you're 'boss' to me. Anyway,"—he turned back to Roy—"what are you doing here? This is the loser table."

"I resent that!"

"But it's true."

"It is," he sighed, puffing his cheeks out for a moment before poking whatever it was he had gotten with his fork. He was sure that taco meat wasn't supposed to ooze green… is that a snail?

"I'm over here to get caught up on old times with an old friend of mine."

"Well, I'm not looking to 'get caught up' on _anything_. Leave. Now." Ed demanded, fixing him with a heated glare.

"You make me feel as if I'm not welcome here."

"No! No! You are. Don't worry, you are!" Jean snapped in, slapping his hand in front of Ed's mouth. "He's being grumpy again. Don't worry; it was probably another late night."

Ed could tell that Roy had stopped listening right about there. To be honest, so did he—Jean had the ability to just drone _on _and _on _about absolutely nothing. Hell, Roy's eyes even looked away from his face and traveled down the arm that was connected to his face.

His lips pinched together and his nostrils flared a single time to show he was holding back laughter as Ed opened his mouth and chomped down on the digits there. When Jean held his hand over his mouth to hold back his scream, Roy burst out laughing and tried to hold his hand over his own mouth to diminish it, even if everybody had already looked at them (not that they weren't looking before).

"What?" Ed hummed, looking innocent as Jean waved his hand in the air, glaring at him. "Your hand was between me and my food. It was completely your fault."

"That doesn't mean I want you to _bite _me! Asshole."

"Yes, I have one. As do you, but it seems as if Roy's is the biggest one around here as of late, don't you agree?"

"No. I don't. Why are you so pissy with him?"

"He's a fucking jackass." Ed stated calmly and stood up, taking his tray with him. "And I have neither a plan nor a want to reconnect. Good bye and don't bother coming back, fucker." He tossed out his tray as he left, waving to Rose as she walked towards their usual table.

* * *

Roy ran up and managed to get in front of Ed, stopping him. Per usual, everyone split their way, letting them have their room to talk, so they wouldn't have to worry about being knocked against anything as they spoke. "Seriously, Ed, what did I ever do to you?"

The gold eyed man stared back at him, calmly, and that was probably what left him to feel the most on edge than ever before. When they were little, Ed was never calm—no, he was pissed, excited, and any other overzealous action, but if he was calm, you knew you were in trouble. "You seriously don't know. God, you're such a motherfucker. Stay out of my face; I don't need you around here to do _anything _for me so don't bother trying."

"What did I do? I'm not kidding you!"

"Yeah, I figured that much out, prick."—they both moved to the right so that they were still face-to-face—"get out of my face, Mustang. I don't want to have anything to do with you."

"Let me drive you home. You still live on Resembool Street, right?"

"Dublith Lane, now. And it's not like you're going to let me say _no_, either."

"We live on the same street? Since when?"  
"A while. I live on the other side of you, though. 42, not 18."

"Alright. I come in that way, anyway. And you're right; I won't let you say no. I'll kidnap you if I have to."

"Good luck pulling that off without breaking something."

Roy shrugged and patted his shoulder before walking away.

He knew by the way the people surrounding him were looking that they were curious as to why he hadn't left yet. But, like always, he ignored them and watched as that temperamental cheerleader stalked away from practice. He hadn't even bothered to change out of his uniform, which meant that he was wearing ankle-length blue slacks with gold on the seams. His shirt was also gold, minus the one thick navy blue stripe running through the middle of it with "CHS" sewn in gold.

He made no comment about it as he unlocked the door and Ed plopped down, mumbling about hating cheerleaders and them telling him that he couldn't do "something"—Roy couldn't tell what that something was, he didn't say it outright… nor did he want to know. "You didn't have to wait for me, you know."

"Wait for you? I've been out of practice for all of five minutes. The car was just warming up."

"You've been out for fifteen." Ed slowly looked up and told him, "Thanks, anyway."

"What for? I told you I kidnapped you." He was glad to hear Ed snort right then and smirked to himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he realized that Ed was looking out the side of his convertible, looking anywhere but at him. "So, when'd you move to Dublith?"

"A few months ago. There wasn't a bunch of stuff that we brought over, so that's probably why you never realized it."

"Well, I wish I had. At least then we could have gotten together a long time ago."

Ed just shrugged. "I don't particularly care for that."

"You know, if anyone asked, they probably wouldn't believe that I live on Dublith."

Ed smirked and turned to look at him again. "No shit. It's, like, one of the rattiest places there are here in Amestris City. It's barely off of ghetto and I think that it's going to be classified as one next month."

"Well, I've got the spray paint," Roy joked, merging right. Ed snorted and looked over, smirking at him. "Dude, we should _totally_ do that!"

"I was kidding."

"I'm not."

He spared the man a quick glance and noticed that in his butterscotch eyes was a sense of mischief that he hadn't seen in him in years. And that's just not a face you can exactly say 'no' to. "Fine. When?"

"I don't know. Next Saturday good for you? After dusk."

"Yeah. Mom will be out at the bar until well past one in the morning. Where at?"

"I'm tempted to say the school, but we both know that won't happen so…"

"The school."

"Seriously? You want to vandalize _school_ property? What happened to being star quarterback?"

"I thought I told you that I didn't want to be it when I first started. I lost a bet about Riza, too."

"What about?"

"If she could-"

"Finish a physics problem? Damn, we're in the same boat. Can I tip it, now?"

"No, we'll do that next Saturday. Together." He held his fist up. He could tell that Ed was reluctant to do this, but after a moment, their fists touched and they were totally _on_. "But you'll have to figure out a way in."

"Already know one."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Uh, hello, _I'm _Edward Elric."

"I thought you said _I_ was narcissistic."

"Who told you that?"

"Maes' girlfriend is close with your friend. What's her name? Daisy? Lily?"

"Rose. Her name's Rose."

"I was close."

"Nowhere near."

"Whatever."


	3. Chapter 3

Three –

_"I'm gonna show him what little girls are made of: gunpowder and lead!"_

"I don't know. This song doesn't seem like 'you'."

"What are you talking about? It's totally me."

"It's a song about killing the guy that abused her in a relationship."

"Ok, it's not me, but I like it."

"Simple enough."

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

* * *

Ed blinked and stopped midway down his front steps, blinking at the blue '06 mustang convertible currently in neutral outside his front door. "How long have you been out here, Roy?"

"I don't know. All of two seconds?"

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Because I'm Roy Mustang. You getting in or what?"

Ed shrugged. "Well, considering you're Roy Mustang…" he went around to the other side and dropped his satchel into the backseat, opening the passenger side door and sliding in.

"That's what I thought."

There would always be people watching Roy's every move. Ed knew that, but he didn't predict that when he started taking rides to and from school for not even a day, his every motion would be followed and he would be talked about in every moment of every day. It was… a little disturbing for it to happen to him after so long of being alone.

Jean smiled as he slid into his seat at their lunch table. Under one arm he had a magazine and Rose quickly followed suit with that endearing smile she always had on her face. If it was gone, you know you're in trouble. "What's with the print, dude?" He asked eyeing the 'zine after the other man had dropped it on the table.

"Read this section here." Jean pointed to a small area and he leaned in, sipping from his water. He ended up choking on it part way through. "_What!"_

He met Jean's eyes with a jaw dropped. "No fucking way. _No one _is better than _Carlos Santana_."

"Well, according to, like, three different newspapers and four different magazines, this guy is! You, obviously, have never heard him play."

"That's ridiculous! There's no fucking way."

"No fucking way for what?" Roy's voice asked as he settled down in the seat beside Rose. There was another man with emerald green eyes behind glasses and black hair with him. He wore a white shirt with the CHS crest on the left breast and navy blue pants. Then again, everyone but Rose at the table was wearing that, except she had a knee-length skirt the same color as their pants on, so they weren't too far apart.

Damn uniforms.

"Jean brought in a newspaper article on some new band called 'Radical Jupiter Energy'. Listen to this,"—he pulled the newspaper closer so that he could read it better than he had before—"_Last night, this reporter has gotten to experience the new sensation most of the college students from ASU have been raving about—Radical Jupiter Energy; a small three-person band that has a lot more talent than they do luck. They never play the same place twice—whether that's because they don't want to or the owner won't let them, well, that's up to you to decide._

_"From the glimpse of the interview I managed to get out of them, they are a cover band as of the moment, even though they have plans to make their own music sometime in the future. The lead singer—name unknown—also pointed out that since they were still in school, that their band is not the most important thing in their life. Modest and they know what's important—not something you come across often in this business now is it?_

_"The Lead Singer is also the Lead Guitarist who is, in this reporter's opinion, better than Carlos Santana_ himself_. So much soul in that one guitar should not be legal. The base guitarist's smoky tenor voice as the backup singer really pulls the two of them together well, but with the drummer's wonderful, light soprano voice, they really pull together perfectly. Once they start making their own songs, there's no doubt in this reporter's mind that they'll be the next Beatles. I give them seven out of three stars."_

"No one's better than Carlos Santana," Maes agreed with Ed, gesturing for him to hand it over. Ed did just that and went to say something, but Jean cut him off. "Well, you've obviously not heard him play. I mean, the guy is _beyond _epic. No, no, he is beyond _beast_, he's so good."

"So you've heard them play?" Roy asked, turning to him. "I've been hearing about them from my mom since she sometimes lets them play at her bar. I think she said something about that being the only place that they have ever visited more than once."

"Whoa, they're regulars there?" Jean pressed, leaning in. "You totally have to get us in there!"

"Dude, Jean, calm down, man. His mom owns a _bar_ as in twenty-one and up _only. _Hey, maybe that's why college students are always talking about them."—Ed turned back to Roy—"Isn't that place a big hotspot since she has so many girls working there?"

"Yeah, it is."

"Oh, that reminds me, tell Chris I say hi. And that Izumi wants her to call her—just don't tell her that part. She's been really pissy lately."

"Then why did you tell me to?"

"Because then when she asks me if I told you, I won't be lying."

"You're right; she is not someone you lie to, but neither is my mom."

"Eh. Izumi's way scarier."

"No way; my mom is."

"You're mom doesn't throw knives at you when you enter the kitchen to get a cup of water while she's making dinner."

Roy opened and shut his mouth three times before he decided, "You win _this _round."

"Another step closer to taking the war."

* * *

"Are we really Beatles level?"

"All these magazines and newspaper reporters seem to think so."

"We only talked with one person on our way out of that restaurant. I don't see how all these people could have gotten a hold of it."

"It could have been one of those people who send their stuff to other people so they can use it, too."

"Anyway, are we going to go back to Chris' bar tonight? Or are we going to rest?"

"I kind of want to go back to Chris'."

"Ditto."

"Alright, Chris' it is!"

* * *

Roy smiled, walking into the bar and brushing past a bunch of beads. Jeannette, one of his mom's employees, noticed him first and rushed him, wrapping her lithe arms around his neck and kissing his cheekbone. He chuckled, knowing better than to push a woman away and thanked her for the warm greeting. She kissed him again before disappearing behind her long ginger hair and going into the back.

"Roy-boy! Home early from school, are you?"

He turned to the voice at the small bar and nodded, his smile warming up a great deal. "Yeah. Football practice was canceled since the coach got food poisoning. Remind me to bring my lunch tomorrow."

She laughed and reached out, running her hand through his unruly mop of hair. He shook his head, not liking the feeling, making her laugh a little more before taking her hand back. "So, what brings you here right now?"

"Nothing, really. I was bored and all my friends are still working on their homework."

"Don't lie to me, boy."

"I'm… ok, I'm only half lying, I_ swear_! Edward also asked me to tell you hello and told me to tell you that Izumi wants you to call her, but he doesn't think that's a good idea because she's been moody lately. No, that was not his wording."

"I'll keep it in mind. You run along and figure out what you're going to do, boy; service starts soon and I can't have minors in here."

"Love you."

"Love you, too."

"And finish your homework. All of it. I don't want you to wake up at three this morning just so you can do your French."

He pulled a face and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, and, Roy-boy."

"Yeah?"

She pointed to her cheek, where Jeannette had kissed him earlier, "Don't let Jeannie kiss you too often. Her lipstick is hard to remove. Go wash it off before you leave."

"Alright."

When he came back, he felt someone jump onto his back, wrapping their arms around his neck and pressing their cheeks together. "Hey! Let me go."

"Oh, but you let Jeannette do it!"

"Jeannette is also a beautiful _woman_."

"Since when have you cared?"

"I don't. Get off, will you? I've got to go!"

"Oh, you're no fun. I love you too."

"Get off!"

"Not until you admit you love me, too."

"Stop kidding around; it's not funny."

"It is from back here."

"Yeah, you're the one on my back. How much do you _weigh_?"

"Less than you, that's for sure."

"Just get off me."

"Don't make me kiss you."

"This isn't funny!"

"Fine, fine. Kill joy."

"You're not off yet."

"Nope."

"Hurry up."

"I don't plan on getting off yet."


	4. Chapter 4

Four –

Ed stretched, lying back on his bed that night. Izumi had been pissed that he had come home late again (she doesn't know that he's a "cheerleader") so he had gotten into another fight with her. Their fights had never been verbal, but he supposed it's a good thing she had taught him martial arts when he was younger—but that didn't stop the fact that his stomach throbbed painfully and made him want to puke.

He rolled over and curled his knees up to his shoulders, shutting his eyes and resting an arm against his stomach. She didn't have to break his rib, though.

* * *

Breda watched as Roy sat with those losers for the third day in a row. The Linebacker was starting to wonder if something was up there, because "In" kids don't hang with "Out"; they just don't get it. But it seemed as if Roy was having more fun sitting over there than with the team—he'd even taken Maes to sit with them yesterday and he would probably be there if he wasn't sitting with his girlfriend.

He couldn't stand it anymore and stood up with his tray, walking over there. Out of politeness, he asked "is this seat taken?"

That blond kid—what was his name, Ed? Isn't he a cheerleader?—looked up at him before picking up some sort of book from right next to him and sliding it into the seat beside him, shaking his head. The ginger smirked and sat down, ready to introduce himself when Ed pointed out, "dude, don't bother; everyone knows you."

Breda blinked, furrowing his brow.

"Edward's always been good a reading people," Roy explained. "We used to hang when we were younger."

"So that's why you've been sitting over here lately."

"No, he's been sitting over here lately so that he can steal my secret to eternal life," Ed rolled his eyes.

"I thought he was here for your cold beer," Jean teased.

"He's not here for beer!" Rose rejected instantly, then paused, "he's more of a whiskey person, right, Ed?"

He just turned to Roy and smirked, tilting his head again.

"I was _nine_!"

"So was I."

"You can't tell _anyone_! My mom can lose her job."

"Then it's a good thing we got it from my place, huh?"

"That's beside the point!"

"Dude, you're as red as a radish."

"Because I'm trying not to laugh at what you did when _you _were drunk." The table jolted and Breda barely saved his milk before it fell all over Ed's food.

"Don't move your leg like that! I would have totally kicked you!"

"That's the whole point in _moving _it. What would you have done if you had broken it, huh? I have firsthand experience at how hard you can hit."

"I would have laughed my ass off and fucking cheered."

"No you wouldn't have. I know you; you'd sulk and try and find out a way to make it up to me."

"No. I would have laughed my ass off and cheered. Let's do a trial run."

"Let's not."

Breda laughed gently and smirked. Yes, he could see why Roy hung out with these people—and he could see himself hanging out with them more often.

* * *

Riza scowled at Ed as he came running up, late again. Before she even said anything, he started off with "I know and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be late but Mr. Jacobson held me back to talk to me. I swear I'm not lying."

He knew she wouldn't let up; she never did. No girl around him ever did. He was forever cursed to having women who can hold grudges over him for breathing at the wrong time. Yes, that has happened before.

Her arm flew out and she pointed at the struggling tower before she stated, "help. Now."

To say the least, he went.

Roy sat back in his car, ruffling through the magazine he kept in his glove compartment until he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that both Riza and Edward were walking towards his car. The latter was looking anywhere but the woman, but there was a good five foot gap between them, which meant that Riza was pissed—that was never a good thing.

"Hey, Riza, you need a ride?"

"Just make sure you keep your boyfriend in line, Roy."

"I'm not his boyfriend!" Ed snapped. "Please, why would I date a guy that ugly?"

"Why would I date a guy that obnoxious?"

"I don't care." She stated and looked between them both, silencing them. "And I would very much appreciate a ride. Thank you."

"Climb in. Both of you." When he said it, he hadn't meant _literally_. Ed just popped the door for her (probably looking for brownie points) and shoved his foot in the wheel well, pushing himself over and into the backseat. "Edward!"

"Well, you did say 'climb'."

"You're such an idiot."

Ed stuck his tongue out at him as he buckled his seatbelt. "You know well enough that I am anything but." He turned to Riza and asked, "What street do you live on?"

"26 West Maylow," she answered the blonde's question as Roy pulled out of the parking lot and merged into traffic.

"Maylow? Hey, Roy, didn't you live on that street before your parents died?"

"Only for a little while; a couple months."

"Your parents are dead?" Riza asked, turning to look at him.

"That's right, you hadn't yet moved to Arizona yet when they did. Yeah, I was about three when they were killed in a car crash. I live with my foster mother, who also happens to be my aunt now."

"But she goes by 'mom'." Ed stuck his tongue out at him in the rearview.

"Well, I can't exactly remember my parents so obviously…" he shrugged.

"I apologize. I didn't know."

"Don't," He looked at her for a second with his best smile. "Like I said, I can't remember them, so it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be."

She nodded briefly and looked back out the front windshield. Ed leaned forward and poked Roy's cheek, muttering, "Damn, it is real."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I can't believe you can bother yourself to be so polite and fucking not _you_ with women."

"I do no such thing. Stop poking me!"

"It's all squishy."

"Edward!"

"This place looks so expensive," Ed pointed out, seated in the front seat after Riza had thanked Roy and gotten out.

"These houses are supposed to be, like, 240 K to 320 K."

"So, what, Riza's _rich_? No wonder she's such a snob."

"You know who her dad is, right?"

"Nope. Don't care."

"He's one of the top scientists for—"

"Don't care."

"—NASA and it's rumored she had to move away from the Pentagon to move here."

"Still don't care but am interested."

"Contradiction; her dad is Berthold Hawkeye."

"Holy shit, _the _Berthold Hawkeye. He invented the purple flame! _He _made it work! He's a true alchemist! No wonder she's so uptight. I would be, too, if that was my dad."

"I know right?" He chuckled. "This street makes Dublith look like a crap heap."

"Dublith _is _a crap heap."

"Yeah, I guess it's a good thing no one knows we live there. Aren't Dublith kids supposed to go to South City High?"

"Don't know; don't care."

"Good point."

"Hey, Jean, Rose and I are going to go to the park not too far from Dublith about four. Wanna come? You can bring Maes and Breda, you know."

"Maes has a date and Breda is… well, I think he's sleeping, I don't know. I don't really care, either. But I'll see if I can come."

" 'Kay."

"Hey, how do you know Maes' name? He's the only other person I hang out with that's not on the football team."

"He and I are in the same Latin class."

"Why am I not surprised?"

* * *

Ed stretched, waving to Jean and Rose. The park was small and all it really had was a swing set (not even in sand or woodchips or anything) and a large open field. It used to have a jungle gym, but the city got tired of people off Dublith coming over and vandalizing it, so they tore it down and replaced the sandbox with grass. It wasn't a very good play place anyway, so it wasn't missed.

Jean noticed him first and smiled, waving at him, too. As he got closer, the book in his hand seemed to get heavier until, finally, he gave up and opened it, reading the page and crossing the street. "Bookworm."

"Smoker."

"Touché."

"Touché is just douche with a 't' and a fancy 'e'." Ed plopped down and stretched his legs out, rubbing his side irritably. "Roy said he might show up, but he didn't sound so sure, so I figured we'd give him five or six minutes."

"Why did you sound like you hate him that first time he sat with us?"'

He flipped the page and shrugged. "We had a falling out a few years ago and it left me pissed at him since he was being an asshole, so I figured I'd be one back."

"But he's not an asshole."

"He can be about some things."

"Like what?"

"Himself—like, things that are close to him. He tries, but his mask only lasts so long." Next page….

"Who's mask only lasts so long, Eddo?"

"Don't call me that, jackass!"

Roy chuckled behind him and sat down on Ed's back. He managed to hide his grunt and, after a moment of wriggling, he left Roy be.

"Yo, Ed, you got a light?" Jean asked.

"Nope. I left my lighter in my other ass," he remarked.

Now that he was wearing his usual black pants and vest combo with the red jacket, he could feel each little piece of grass pushing into his skin. Rose was in her favorite yellow sundress that, in some unbelievable way, brought out her eyes. Jean wore a blue denim jacket (no doubt with cigarettes in his right pocket since one was hanging out of his lips, unlit) and a white shirt with blue slacks. He couldn't tell much of what Roy was wearing, except that the shirt was black and formfitting while the pants he wore were blue—he could only see the edge around his black sneakers.

"Here," Ed felt rustling on his back and grunted again, not liking the feeling of the grass forcing itself into his bruise. Out of the corner of his eye, he recognized the elaborate etchings in the silver plating on it and he couldn't help the touched smile that licked his face.

"It's not going to work, Jean."

He clicked it a few times and frowned, turning it over. "Your lighter's broken, man."

"I told you it wouldn't work," Ed chastised, reaching out for it. "Give it here, I'll light it." Safely in his right hand, he griped it, not bothering to use the flint as he hit the gas. There was a crack, and a flame started. The smoker looked at him for a moment before lighting up and taking a long drag of the toxic stick.

"I take it he's not privy to your secrets?" Roy snorted, taking his lighter back.

"Not my old ones. Besides, I made that lighter when I was about five; it doesn't take two brain cells to figure it out if you give it a moment."

Roy snorted and took it back, stuffing it in his pocket before he slid off Ed so that his legs were still over him. "Hey, Jean, aren't you too young to smoke?"

"Yep. But I get them from my parents. They're always too high on nicotine or too busy working the store to notice me take them. Besides, they're addictive."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's why they try to teach us that cigarettes are bad for you in those anti-drug classes."

"Wouldn't know; they send in the chicks with the biggest boobs _ever _to teach those classes." Rose made a noise and pushed his shoulder, harshly. "What? It's true!"

"That doesn't mean you have to look!"

"Yes it does."

"No it does not."

"I'm a guy. I _have _to look."

"I resent that!" Both Ed and Roy snapped at him.

"Whoa, wait, I knew Edward was pansexual but you are, too, Roy?"

"Bi, not pan." Roy waved his hand. "I'd like to know whether or not the person I date is a man or a woman."

"Makes no difference to me," Ed mumbled, flipping the page. "I just care for personality."

"Weirdo."

"Pyro."

"Science geek."

"Jock."

"Cheerleader."

"Fucker."

"I win."

"Hell no you don't!" He rolled over, growling.

"I got you away from the book! Jean, you owe me five."

"If you're going to bet on me then the least you can do is say it out loud so I can make it harder!"

"Isn't that your dad?"

Ed blinked, startled at the subject change, following Roy's eyes to where a tall man stood in a brown overcoat and a long golden mullet and glasses in front of his gold eyes. Ed sat up, pushing Roy's legs off of him and said, "Why don't we go somewhere else? We could get a pizza. My treat."

Jean looked at Rose before turning to Ed, "Deal. Let's go."

They didn't make it long before they could hear a man's voice yelling out to Ed. "Ignore him. Let's go."

"EDWARD! Please, speak to me, Ed."

"Go to hell."

"_Edward!_"

"Dude, if that's your dad, maybe you should listen to him." Jean muttered.

"No fucking way." He turned to Roy and reached into his pocket, making him jump as he clasped the lighter and pulled it out. He grabbed the cigarettes out of Jean's jacket before turning to Rose and leaning in, whispering in her ear. She took them, nervously, and nodded before running the way they were heading.

"Edward, please. I heard about what happened to-!"

"Shut the _fuck up you motherfucker!" _He yelled, turning around and slamming his hand into the man's jaw. He stumbled back and fell down. "Don't you fucking dare talk to me like that—don't talk to me _at all_, actually. Just go back to whatever rock you crawled out from under all fucking ready and leave me alone!"

The older man stood up again and clapped his hand on Ed's shoulder, saying, gently, "Edward, please-"

He slammed his foot into the side of the man's ribs, pushing him off. "You didn't even go to her fucking funeral you motherfucking jackass. Stay away from me and don't bother _trying _to talk to me. I won't listen and you'll just end up with more broken bones."

He turned around and started stomping, hands balled into fists as he followed in the direction that Rose had gone in. A hand he knew wasn't Jean's or Roy's clapped on his shoulder and he grabbed the wrist with his left hand, using his right to flip him over himself. He made sure to bounce when he was stepping on his ribcage and continued away.

Roy caught up before Jean could process it. "That was your…"

"He can go fuck himself in hell."

"Still hate him for leaving?"

"Hate him even more."

"Edward! Please, listen to me. I know what happened to your b-!"

He turned around and stalked up to him, fisting his collar in his hand and forcing him down. "Talk about him. Go ahead and I will kick you in your fucking balls. Do I look like I'm kidding you—do _not_ play me, old man."

"Edward, what did I do-!"

"What the fuck kind of question is that? First you left and then you didn't even go to her fucking funeral, you _bastard_! I'm not going to sit here and fucking talk to you. You want someone to talk to? Then go look in the mirror because that's the closest you'll fucking get to talking to me."

He threw him away and turned around passing the other two men quickly and not bothering to give either of them a look. He knew that Jean would leave with a fleeting look, but Roy wouldn't bother. And he would have laughed when Roy pointed out, "You still owe us that pizza," except that he could still feel Hoenheim watching him.

"Let's just survive what's next."

"You noticed them, too."

"They've been following you since Dublith. I noticed."

"Wait, noticed what?" Jean's voice asked, cutting between them.

"The real reason I gave Rose your cigs. I'd suggest you put that out now, too."

"Why?"

"This is about to get messy." Roy settled for them as Ed reached down into the grass and gathered up his book flipping it open to the page it had been on one handed.

"Wait, why do you two look like you're ready to fight?"

"Maybe because we're ready to fight." Ed opted for, reaching back with his left hand and tugging on his ponytail, tightening it.

"Yo! Eddo! Roy! You look like you knew we were here the entire time." Jean turned his head up as three- no, four people came walking up to them. One of them was (he hoped) a man with long dark hair down to his ankles and, ok, fuck it, he's a transvestite, that was the only explanation for the halter and miniskirt.

Beside him was a woman about their age with her long black hair pulled into a ponytail so that it fell over her back in waves, but stayed off her shoulders. She wore a black dress (in this heat? She's insane!) that had sleeves off her shoulders, showing off her tan line from her bikini and the single sun burnt circle on her collarbone.

Another guy there was pretty bulky but, on a second glance, it was pretty much all muscle—he probably gave the expression "muscle head" a new definition. He sat slightly behind the first man with his thumb in his mouth and he couldn't tell if he was sucking it or feeling his teeth.

The last person was a little kid who looked an awful lot like Ed, even though his hair was dark and covered his face (and at most he was a fourth grader and less than half Ed's age). He had on some sort of light tank top and knee-length blue basketball shorts.

Roy sighed to their side. "So, then, Edwin, Lindsay, Gary and Warren, huh? Are you guys still trying to prove yourself or something? We don't even go to school with you guys, leave us alone."

"No can do, Mustang." Edwin pointed out. "Especially since we go by Envy, Lust, Gluttony and Wrath now."

"Just let us through, we don't want any trouble," Ed called from behind his book, flipping the page with his thumb.

"You may not want trouble, short stuff, but we're all about it now."

"Jean, you may want to step back," Roy's voice advised.

"Why?"

"You'll see."


	5. Chapter 5

I want to thank anyone and everyone that has stayed with me this long. Especially since I JUST found my zipdrive-for which I am thankful to any and all deities out there for helping me find-and I have vowed to keep a copy of each of my stories on my computer for now on. ... Or, at least, a copy of all my important ones.

* * *

**Five –**

"_WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SHORT HE NEEDS A SIXTY MILLION FOOT TALL LADDER JUST TO KICK YOUR ASS!"_

Envy—Edwin, whatever—snorted and walked down, crouching just barely so that they were face-to-face. Honestly, Ed wasn't that much shorter than him, maybe an inch to an inch and a half shorter, and it made Jean wonder how short he'd have to had been to get that reaction out of him. "Now, now, pipsqueak, I didn't quite hear that little squeak of yours. What did you say?"

"I said: _kiss my ass!" _

"I would, but I don't have time for you to get a step ladder."

Ed's foot flew up and knocked him on the underside of his jaw, throwing him back. Jean took the moment to notice that the blond man didn't move to attack any more as he flipped the page in his book and moved it to his left hand, taking a deep breath.

"Oh, that's it. You're on, you little shit."

Roy's hand clapped on his shoulder and he looked up for a moment before taking a few steps back, like he'd asked him to do earlier.

Ed didn't make a motion that he was even listening or paying attention as Envy got closer and threw his fist at him. His right arm came up in an L shape and he threw it away, not bothering to even _look _at the man as he shifted his feet and tripped him.

And then he flipped the fucking page. How good a fighter _was_ he!

Envy growled out that Gluttony guy's name and the linebacker-like guy stood up, running at him. Ed's foot—his one left foot—nailed him in the gut and made the guy _fly backwards! _Who… just _what_ was his friend?

Envy flew at him again and Ed pivoted around, slamming his heel into the transvestite's face. He snarled and flipped around, following the momentum as he held his hand out, ready to hit Ed square in the cheek. Ed dropped down, his right leg coming out and hooking around his ankles with his knee and pulling so that Envy flipped around on his hand.

Somehow, Lust got in front of him and was getting ready to slash her fingers across his face when Roy appeared out of nowhere and took the blow. He staggered back and turned to him, growling, "If you can't fight, save yourself! Get the fuck out of here or _fight_."

Jean blinked a few times as Roy showed him where three long slashes had appeared on his face, each bleeding profusely. He steeled his resolve and nodded as that kid—Wrath—ran up to him, jumping into the air and trying to force his fist into his face.

He dodged under him, forcing his open hand into the middle of his back. The kid went down, bouncing on his hand and spun around again, looking to swipe his feet into his ribs. Instead, he grabbed him by his ankle and held him there as he crouched down and asked, "So, what's with the fighting?"

Wrath shrugged. "My big bro Envy just said that it was time to put the goody-goody Dublith guys into their place. He told me to call the cops once they distracted them, too, so I did. And they're on their way. And by the time they get here, we'll be doing something else."

He blinked. "I'm not from Dublith. My friends aren't from there, either."

"Really? Where are you from?"

"East Ellis Boulevard."

"Really? You're from _there_? So then what are you doing here?"

"My friend Rose lives on East Reole and it's pretty close to here, so we all met up here earlier."

"Wow, is that who that pretty girl was earlier? She was really cute."

"I know; she's one of my best friends, after all. But she has a boyfriend."

"You have no luck with ladies, do you?"

"Wh-What? Where'd that come from?"

"The way you said that… can I have my foot back now?"

"Will you kick me?"

"You're not from Dublith, so no." He released his ankle and rubbed his lip, looking to see that blood had appeared there.

"When did you hit me?"

"I got you before you dodged. Not much though."

"Ah." He stayed on guard, watching Ed and Roy fight. They worked like machines in practiced motions, the former more trained whereas the latter seemed as if he was fighting off of experience rather than anything else.

Roy's elbow caught Lust's stomach and she fell backwards, grunting and glaring that she had lost. He wiped at his face and turned to watch as Ed threw his book up in the air and both his arms flew out, knocking them each on the side of their jaws. They snapped in opposite directions, but Envy recovered first and threw his fist at Ed again.

His hands landed on his arms and the brunette flew over him as Gluttony jumped up at him. Ed sidestepped and shoved his knee into his back and the man went down. It didn't look like the dunderhead was going to come up anytime soon, either. Ed even went so far as holding his hand out and catching the book in his hand to read it again.

The police sirens sounded and Ed stepped over Envy and Gluttony, walking over to Roy and him as Wrath got up and scrambled towards his friends, shaking Envy first.

"You two alright?" He shut his book, looking at them.

"I've had much worse. This is just a flesh wound compared to that," Roy remarked, pointing up at his open cheek.

"My fight was over before it started," Jean replied, blinking at him. "Dude, you're covered in blood. Are _you_ ok?"

"Most of it's not mine. I think this"—he pointed at the gash over the right side of his lips—"this"—the cut over his left eyebrow—"and this"—finally, a cut on the side of his neck, a few millimeters away from his jugular vein—"are mine and that's it for blood. A few bruises on my back since those guys are cowards, but that's it."

"Dude, they tried to kill you and you're acting like it was just another walk in the park! What the fuck is with you!"

Ed just gave him a warm smile as the police rushed down into the field—Jean took notice that neither of them had bothered with trying to run. "You've never met Izumi, have you?"

"If this is normal to you I don't want to!"

Roy snorted and smirked slightly, "Trust me, you don't. She's scary and it takes _a lot_ to scare the two of us." He gestured with his head towards Ed as the three of them were hauled to their feet and escorted, in handcuffs, to the police car.

* * *

"This is not good, guys; I've never been arrested before!" Jean moaned across the jail cell.

Roy just looked at the cards in his hand and shook his head. "Go fish. Got any twos?"

Ed did the same before shaking his head, muttering, "Fishing's good as of late. Guess it's a good thing you had these in your pocket, huh? Why were they there, anyway?"

"I grabbed them on my way out of my house. I don't know why, exactly; I just did. I suppose it's a good thing after all."

"Yep. Good thing we told Rose to go ahead, too." Ed hummed and flicked a pair of jacks down into the pile at his crotch.

"Totally."

"Guys! Are you even listening to me? I'm going crazy over here!"

"Nope." Ed popped the P like a bubble in his gum. "Roy and I are veterans. We tend to ignore anyone who isn't. They get annoying."

"How can you tell if they're new?"

He and Roy fixed his friend with a look brushing from his feet to the top his head and back down. Roy cleared his throat as he turned back to his cards, asking, "Got any aces?" He handed over his Ace of Diamonds before putting them all face down and shrugging out of his red coat, fighting his eyelids to stay open. "Nice ink, man. Pinako do that? Ok, fours?" Pinako was a coworker of Izumi's and also how he met the latter. Of course, over time, Izumi had gotten to be better than Pinako but she still refused to ink too much space since it was ruining what their mothers grew for them or something like that; he always zoned out in the middle of it.

He shook his head at the fours. "Yeah, she did it. She even asked me what I wanted before she did." He held his right arm out, showing off how the skin there seemed to glisten like metal with the silver and gray ink from the tips of his fingers all the way up to his shoulder. "Ok, and, look at this; it's pretty epic, right?" He lifted his left leg up, rolling up the pant leg and showing off the same design on his leg that he had on his arm.

"That's totally beast, man. I wish she'd do something for me."

"Your mom won't consent to that and you know the legalities behind it and all."

"I can't believe your mom consented to it."

"It was easier than you'd think."

"Everything is easier for you."

"Yep! Kings?" He handed over his King of Clubs, reducing him down to two cards now that there were only a couple left in the deck. "Jacks?" His Jack of Spades left him next, leaving him with- "Sevens?"

"What the hell, dude? Were you holding out on me?"

"Nope! Easy guess. Take those cards." Ed waited for him to before asking "Threes and nines perhaps?"

"Fucker."

"Love you too."

"You're hilarious." Total deadpan.

"You two are jackasses, you know that, right?" Jean snapped.

"Just don't bend over and pick up the soap." Roy remarked, taking back his cards and shuffling them together. "Slap jack?"

"_I fucking hate you two!_"

"Sounds good."

"_I mean it!_"

"Alright, who starts?"

Ed shifted around in his pants pocket. "Call it."

"Heads." He flipped the coin in the air before it landed on the concrete ground, where they had taken up residency rather than the spring bed in the corner, where Jean was. "Ok, me first."

"_You two can go to hell, alright?_"

"Already on that highway," Ed retorted and flipped down a Five of Diamonds before Roy placed down a Queen of Hearts.

"Long past the half way point." Roy added.

The cop came up to the bars and grunted, asking for their addresses and phone numbers so that they could call their parents. Jean piped in first, saying, "12 East Ellis Boulevard, Amestris, AZ zip code 8524516. Area code…" he went on to tell him his mom's phone number.

"42 South Dublith Lane, Amestris, AZ 8524516. I live with Izumi and Sig Curtis and her phone number is…"

Roy stared at Ed for a moment before shaking his head, realizing it was his turn. "18 South Dublith Lane, Amestris, AZ 8524516. I live with Chris Mustang and her number is…"

Jean was staring at them as Ed flipped down a card and Mustang slapped it, taking the pile and putting them next to his hip before putting down his card. It was another Jack, but neither of them bothered to slap the only card there.

"YOU GUYS LIVE ON DUBLITH!"

Ed met Roy's eyes before rolling them. Together, they said, "Here we go again."

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

"Would you still be hanging out with me if I had?" Ed remarked and put his third card of the pile down.

"Would you think that I was as '_cool_' as you think I am if you had known earlier?" Roy added. "Or would you think that I was a thug out to steal from you in the middle of the night?" The silence answered their questions for them. "Hey, Ed, how'd you get Izumi to let you have the ink?"

"I asked her. Seriously, I asked was 'can I have a couple really big tattoos?' and she asked where, hummed, and then asked me what I wanted. I'm still not sure why she agreed to it."

"It's pretty cool that she let you, though. I mean, you wouldn't get that kind of quality from any professional store."

"Whoa, wait, not only did you not tell me that you live on Dublith but you also got a tattoo _illegally!_" Jean screeched.

"Don't be an idiot," Ed snapped. "It's all legal. What he meant was that Izumi doesn't work in a single store. She just floats around whenever she feels like it since, technically, she is a housewife. A fucking scary one at that," he added as Roy placed another Jack. Ed slapped it and took the pile, sticking his tongue out at the other man.

"Wouldn't want that in my mouth either."

"Good; you don't know whose mouth it's been in either anyway."

"Do you know?"

"Maybe I do, maybe I won't tell you."

"Snot."

Ed smirked at him and flipped another card into the pile before grabbing up what he had slapped earlier and shuffling it into his hand. Roy did the same.

"What happened to Al-?"

"_Nothing! Don't ask about him!"_

"Is everything ok?"

"Everything is _fine_! Just don't ask about him."

Roy stared at him for a moment, confused. "Um… ok?"

"_Roy? Jean? Edward!" _

They turned around and watched as that girl from school—Scheizka, or something—walked up to the bars, her jaw dropped. Behind her, they could just barely see a mousy man with large eyes hidden by glasses and black hair spiked. He almost looked like… "Kain? Scheizka? What are you doing here?" Ed all but yelled.

The woman shifted slightly as the man came up and smiled warmly. "Scheizka's dad is doing renovations to the PD Head quarters, and I'm here to work on a report from school with her. What are you three doing behind bars?"

"Going crazy!" Jean whined and pointed his finger at them. "Did you know they live on Dublith?"

"I knew Ed did," Kain replied. "We had to do that science project together. His mom is scary. But I didn't know Roy lived there… I actually don't believe it."

Roy turned to Ed and stated, "You owe me five."

"Whatever" he rolled his eyes and reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. "These guys didn't even bother to search us. I think they threw us in here since there's no room out there."

"Dude, you have a knife wound on your neck, I think they put us here to watch how we react." Roy snorted, taking the five dollars with a smile.

"React to what? The idea that I was almost killed? Dude, wanna see my other scars from those idiots? Here!" He stuck is right arm out and pointed out several spots on his arm which were raised, even under the ink. He moved on to point to vital spots on his left leg, pointing to the same knick on the inside of his thigh more than a few times. "Need any more proof?"

"I remember how you got the one on your thigh." Roy smirked. "You never did look at pocket knives the same way."

"Doesn't matter; I shouldn't have tempted him in the first place. Got what I deserved and barely managed to live through it."

"You got that one when I got this one," Roy pointed out, rolling up in sleeve and pointing to the scar on the front of his shoulder, barely above his artery. "Those guys have bad aim."

"Guys!" Jean yelled, getting their attention. "As interesting as it is to listen to you exchange war stories, we have to figure a way out of here!"

"You gave the pig your real number, right?" Roy asked.

"Of course I did! Why shouldn't I? I was supposed to do that, right? Damn it, _now _you tell me? Fuck!"

"Dude, calm down. Your mental breakdown is beyond fail," Ed pointed out. "You were supposed to give them your address. Your mom will come and bail you out soon. And even if she doesn't, they can't hold us."

"For more than twenty-four hours," Roy pointed out and flicked a card into the air. There was a slight flash and it floated down. If you'd cared to look closer, you would have noticed that the middle of it had been disintegrated.

"True."

"Guys! This isn't helping! Oh, God, oh, shit, what are we going to do?"

"_We_ are going to do nothing." Ed pointed out, throwing a card into the air. The flash from his card was darker, a deeper red than Roy's had been, and it floated down at a significantly slower pace than Roy's had. Its hole was larger than the other—simple. "_We_, as in Roy and I, are going to sit here patiently and wait to be bailed out because we know we did nothing wrong. You, however, are going to panic until you hyperventilate, at which point you'll break into hysterics until one of the two of us snaps—most likely me—and nerve pinches you, knocking you out if you don't _shut the fuck up_, _sit down, _and _calm down!"_

Roy hummed and threw another card into the air.

"Um… guys?" Kain muttered, quietly, and attracted their attention. "Why are you three in here?"

"Got into a set up fight," Ed answered. "Can you do me a favor, Kain?"

"I, um, I guess. I don't see why not…."

"Can you set up operation six?"

His eyes hardened over in an instant and he nodded, gently placing a hand on Scheizka's shoulder, leading her away smoothly. The instant the two of them were out of the cop's eyesight, he pulled out his phone and started texting behind the woman's back.

"You don't think…" Roy trailed off, blindly throwing another card into the air and burning it with a pop.

Ed's only answer was to ignore Jean asking what 'operation six' was and to throw two cards in the air, destroying them simultaneously.

* * *

Disclaimer time!

I don't own RoyEd, Rose?, Riza? Or any other pairing that appears in here. If I did, they'd be having a LOT more fun…. (Songs) I don't own: Come on Get Higher by Matt Nathanson or Gunpowder and Lead by Miranda Lambert. Alright, see you in another five chapters!


	6. Chapter 6

Six –

By the time the woman had stalked in, the cards had been burnt into a pile of ash through and through. Even more, the ashes scattered when the door slammed open and Roy gently shook Ed again, making sure he stayed awake.

"Sleepy," Ed muttered, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his left hand. "Mmm."

"Ed, I think you have a concussion, you have to stay awake." Roy pointed out, shaking him again.

"M'name's Edward Elric," he pointed out, looking at him with half lidded eyes. "M' sixteen years old. Born on February third. Happy? Can I sleep now?"

"No. You're going home."

Ed's eyes widened at the woman's voice behind him and he ducked his head, cursing, "Fuc-dge."

"What was that, young man?"

"N-Nothing! My mouth just… tastes like fudge?" Roy gave him the 'lame' look in response.

"Don't lie to me."

"Yes ma'am!"

"How are you, Roy? Your cheek looks painful."

Roy smiled up at Izumi, politely. Her pissed off air was just that—a vibe. The moment she saw his cheek and noticed the knick on Ed's neck, she seemed to relax slightly—but only just. Her shoulders were still squared in her scary way and her face was eerily blank. That was never a good thing. "I'm fine. I actually can't feel my cheek at all."

"Well, we'll have to get that bandaged then."

"Excuse me, _we_?"

"Your mother called me. It seems that business has really been up ever since that new band has been playing there and she can't come bail you out. I've been asked to."

"Ah, really?" He blinked, shocked. "I- thank you. I'll pay you back."

"Don't bother. I still owed your mother for bailing Ed out last time."

"That was… seven years ago!"

"Well then I suppose that seven years is better than never. Oh? Who's this?"

"This is Jean Havoc," Ed explained. "He's a friend from school that got caught up in this stupid rivalry."

Izumi sighed, making her dreadlocks drift slightly. "I take it Edwin and his friends?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Let's get you two out of here. I'll be right back."

As soon as she was out of earshot, Ed and Roy looked at each other with fear stricken eyes. "Dude," Ed started.

"Mhmm."

"We're fucked."

"If we're not at school tomorrow, Jean, come looking for us." Roy looked at him, weakly.

"No fucking way in hell."

"That's what I thought."

"You two ready to go?" Izumi suddenly appeared at the bars.

"Yes, ma'am!" The two voices bounced off the walls and their owners jumped to their feet in an instant, making the ash from the cards stir as the cop opened the door, letting the two of them out. They turned small smiles to Jean before following Izumi silently.

Ed and Roy sat, silently, on the couch in the middle of the living room in the Curtis household. Izumi was sitting beside Ed, gently massaging her fingers into his scalp to look for bruised spots. There were a few times where he hissed in pain for a millisecond and then stopped, but that wasn't surprising to him at all—the younger man had always had problems with showing that he was in pain-

"Fuck, mom; that _hurt!_"

Or not.

Wait, mom?

Roy furrowed his brow and watched as Ed's hands clutched the top of his head, glaring up at Izumi for a moment as she blinked a few times and sighed. "Roy's right; you have a concussion. Luckily for us, you've gotten enough of those to know how to deal with it. Why don't I go make you two something to drink before you go to sleep?"

"Sure." They agreed and waited for her to leave before looking at each other.

"Why hasn't she killed us yet?" Ed asked.

"I think she's trying to make us feel more comfortable before she kills us in our sleep." Roy muttered and gestured him over with his hand. "Let me see your head."

"You're just jealous because I have a sexy mind."

"Very, come here," he deadpanned, gesturing with his hands again. Ed came over, albeit reluctantly, and stopped just before his lap, leaning his head down.

"See?"

"Where does it hurt?"

"My head."

"Funny." He reached up, gingerly feeling right around where Izumi had been when he had said that. Suddenly, his skin softened and Ed's hand clutched at his knee as he hissed. He cradled right there in the palm of his hand. Ed leaned back into his hand, but he wasn't sure if it was because he was in pain or because he wanted to.

"That'll be every two hours, huh?" Roy muttered, quietly.

"Yeah." Ed nodded slowly and pulled back, rubbing the back of his neck as Izumi walked in. She handed them each a cup of tea and sat down in the loveseat across from them, asking, "So what happened?"

Roy took a sip for a moment to try and decide how to start. Ed did for him. "Roy and I were meeting up with Jean and Rose at the field over there so that we could hang and stuff, y'know? But then Edwin and his gang of crooks followed Roy there and then _Hoenheim _showed up and-"

"Your father was there?"

"_He's no father of mine!"_

Roy blinked in shock. He knew about how Ed's dad had left him, his little brother and Trisha, his mom, when he was just barely old enough to remember, so he wasn't startled at the fact that he denied he was related to him—he was shocked that he had _raised his voice _to _Izumi_. Did he have a death wish?

Izumi took it, though, and nodded. "I see. Well then, after Hoenheim showed up, what happened?"

"I kind of scared him off." Ed shrugged. "And right after I yelled at him not to talk to me like he knew me, I asked Rose to leave—"

"You did that before Hoenheim," Roy corrected.

"—right. I asked her to leave before Hoenheim showed up and anyway, Edwin and his friend decided to show face. He charged me and we started fighting—"

"Ed was copying you and reading a book as he did so."

"—right. And the next thing I know, Edwin pulled out a knife, so I got rid of the book and got these three cuts. As soon as they were down, I went see if the other two were ok and then the cops came."

"And your side of the story, Roy?"

Damn.

"When I left my house to meet up with the others, I noticed them leaving Gary's place and start following me. The four of us hung around for a bit before I noticed Hoenheim and Ed convinced us to leave."

"How?"

"He bribed us. With pizza." He turned to look at Ed. "You still owe us, you know."

"I know! I know! I plan on making it up to you all. Especially Rose, she's probably freaking out with your lighter and Jean's cigarettes."

"Probably." He turned back and looked at Izumi. "We started to leave and Hoenheim started following us, but after a few minutes of Ed yelling at him, he left. We started walking the way that Rose had gone but Edwin and his cronies challenged us.

"I didn't watch too much of Ed's fight since I know he can handle himself, but Jean was staring so much that he didn't even notice it when Lindsay punched his jaw. I went and defended him and got this"—he pointed at his cheek—"in return for it. It was worth it since it snapped him out of his trance and it's not like it's the worst I've gotten before. Anyway, right after I got her down, I watched Ed throw his book in the air and get Gary and Edwin out. Right after that, we were arrested."

"And they attacked first?"

Roy sipped on his tea, letting that answer for him as Ed's cheeks puffed. "I didn't continue attacking!" Ed snapped. "I hit him _once_ and not even _that_ hard, right, Roy?"

"You could have gone much harder, yes."

"And the most I can be charged for that is assault since I stopped. And I only _really _fought them once their Swiss was out. It was complete self-defense! Minus that part! I swear!"

Izumi watched them for a moment before standing up and leaving the room, going into the kitchen.

Roy turned to Ed and frowned, watching as the blond man struggled to keep his eyes open. Ed had put down his cup a few seconds before Izumi left and now he was rubbing his butterscotch orbs with the tips of his fingers. He looked exhausted.

"Ed." He made a muffled noise half between sleep and annoyance at not getting it. "Look up at me."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

"Then no."

He growled and reached out, slipping his fingers under his chin so that he looked up at him. He didn't let go, even as he put the index finger of his other hand up, moving it back and forth. His eyes glided easily and there was no sign of any jerky behavior, so it was probably going to be every two and a half, three hours.

"Roy."

"Yeah?"

"I'm fine, let my chin go."

"I could hold it just to piss you off."

"Jack off," he snapped, ripping his chin out of his hand and slumping away from him. Izumi took that moment to sit behind him (Roy hadn't realized she'd even returned) and slowly wrapped Ed's head to keep pressure on it. After she finished with that, she gingerly (an adjective rarely thought of in the same sentence with this woman) patted his cheek clean with hydrogen peroxide and put a bandage on it.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome. Why don't you two go on up to bed. You still have school tomorrow."

"Yes ma'am."

Roy wouldn't have admitted it right then, but he felt like he could pass out as much as Ed looked it.

They stood up and started down the hallway. "I hang out with you for not even a week and look what happens," Roy snorted.

"You're the one that wanted to _get caught up on old times_."

"Touché."

"Touché is just douche with a t."

"And a fancy e, Ed. You always forgot that part."

"And a fancy e, of course; what was I thinking?"

"That this feels like we're eight again."

Ed smirked gently. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" Edward pushed open the door to his room and revealed the full size bed in the middle of it. Other than that, there was a side table with Ed's lamp and alarm clock on it and the rest of the room was empty.

"Which side you want?" Ed asked, opening his closet to reveal a set of drawers and an acoustic guitar Roy remembered being taught how to play on by him about nine years ago.

"Don't care." He unzipped his own bag that he'd gotten from his house on their way back from the station and pulled off his shirt, shoving it on the other side of his stuff as he pulled on his pajamas.

"Hey," Ed's voice was soft and came from right beside him after he'd shucked his pants and pulled on his night pants (he hadn't taken off his boxers, but that didn't really matter all too much since the two of them had seen each other naked so many times he couldn't count them all). "You remember how we decided that you were bi, right?"

What was he getting at? He nodded, lifting his duffle bag to the ground. "Yeah, why?"

"I kind of… want to do that again."

He smirked to himself and looked at Ed. "You're serious."

"Whatever, it was a fleeting feeling, screw you-"

Roy cut him off, leaning down and pressing their lips together. "If you want to kiss me, just ask next time." His words were mumbled against the soft pair of lips his were against.

Ed just pressed closer, wrapping his arms around Roy's neck, opening his mouth ever so slightly after Roy brushed his tongue against his lips, letting him in.

Yeah, they were definitely reliving their eighth year.

* * *

Ed nuzzled into the warmth around him, noticing the way his pajamas caught on the dead skin on his calf. There was a slight pause where the warmth tightened around him, like a person was hugging him. He peeled open his protesting eyes and rolled over, looking at his alarm clock. 1:37* shown on it in large red numbers before he groaned and rolled over, burying himself back into Roy's completely clothes clad torso.

He had the feeling that he wouldn't mind doing this again soon as he draped his left arm over Roy's side, smiling gently. Maybe without a few layers, that'd be better.

* * *

A/n * - that's what time it is right now as I write this.


End file.
